The Thirteen Enders

by Meifu

Thirteen of the 23 Gods of Æsir and Vanir have been reincarnated into thirteen children. As time passes, their past slowly reveals itself and they must make a choice. Destroy the world of RuneMidgard, or save the world from their powers.

Disclaimer: All the characters are made up but the story is based on the online computer game, Ragnarok Online© and anything that has to do with Ragnarok belongs to Lee Myung-Jin. I do not own anything and I am not making any profit from this story.

The Thirteen Enders: Chapter 1
Meetings

Walking across the deserted fields of sand of Morocc, a novice walked aimlessly not knowing where she was going. Her dark hair that shone blue clung to her perspiring skin. She raised her arm wiping the sweat off her forward as her dark blue eyes glittered in the shining sun. "Sigh… what are we going to do Pip? We have no water left and our food supply is as empty as can be…" The Picky, responded with a chirp. "Damn merchant… all I wanted to know was where Izlude was! Now I'm stuck in the middle of the desert basically going nowhere with a Picky!" she yelled. She sluggishly walked over a hill and saw what she thought she'd never see again: "AN OASIS! Come on Pip! Let's go!" they both ran and ran towards the oasis filled with fresh water along with fruits. The oasis was any starving and thirsty human would believe it'd be; beautiful. The novice took off her armor and then dove into the water along with the Picky, and drank to their hearts content. While the novice and the Picky played in the water, a figure approached them and then cunningly stole the novice's armor and sack along with her dagger and made a quick escape. When the novice turned around and saw that her armor and sack were gone, she looked around and saw a figure running away with her items. Angry, she got out of the water and ran after the thief bellowing: "HEY! YOU! GET BACK HERE!" And she ran as fast as she could. The thief however, looked back and then tripped while climbing over a sand dune. The novice caught up with him and before the thief could get up, she tackled him knocking the wind out of him. Angrily, she stepped on his head and grabbed her belongings and took his belongings at the same time. She looked down at him and grinned: "Hehehe, thought you could get away, eh?" the thief remained silent. "Well, you couldn't have gotten away from me anyways! Because I am May Éclair, and someday, I'm going to be a valiant and beautiful Crusader! And I'm going to be catching thieves like you!" She finished her speech as she pointed to him. She lifted her foot and turned him over only to find out that he too was only a novice like her. He had short chestnut hair that seemed to spike everywhere with only a slight hint of gravity pulling it down. His face was red and burnt from the heat, but he had a long sharp nose, full lips and deep green eyes. She blushed at the fact that she was staring at him and nonchalantly said: "Oh… you're just a novice too…. Humph, you shouldn't be stealing when you're a novice!" she lifted her foot off him and then the novice quickly got up. "Well, I'm just practicing stealing from losers like you." He smiled "I'm going to be the greatest assassin alive! And I'm going to make people like you cry for your mommy!" He looked at her with his relaxed, but intense green eyes and said "And just to tell you, all Crusaders including girls, look like fat ugly men." Shocked at the rude comment, she reacted quickly and punched him on his face, and walked away leaving him in nothing but his briefs. At that moment, their fate was sealed… This would not be the last encounter with each other.

Somewhere in the busy Izlude market…

"Gee, could you be any slower?" exclaimed an energetic female merchant. "Wait up for me! It's not my fault that everyone is swarming me for a heal…" replied a male acolyte. "Well, it's your fault for giving them heals! I'm telling you, we should charge them 100z for each heal!" "But-" "No buts! It's smart! And when you're a priest, we can charge them 1000z per heal! And we can also charge them for buffs as well!" the merchant kept going on how to make money off the poor acolyte. "… Maybe we should set individual prices for all your buffs and-" "Enough! I'm not charging anyone for heals buffs or anything! I'm here to help people in need!" Shocked, the merchant said: "Okay, okay, but just to warn you, there's a crowd of people who want heals and buffs coming right at us!" They both looked at the giant crowd of mages, swordsmen, and merchants and novices going right at them asking for heals and buffs. The merchant looked at her friend and asked: "Shall we run?" He looked back at her with a worried expression and replied: "Yep…" With that, they both ran deeper into the Izlude Market to hide.

"Finally! I made it to Izlude! After days of walking, running away from bosses, beating up thieves, and traveling through the Prontera fields… I finally made it Izlude!" The novice walked around the busy town searching for the guild and taking in the scenery at the same time. She walked around the busy streets and asked for directions to the Swordsman guild. But, no one knew. She then thought 'maybe I should look for a swordsman…' she continued her search and saw a merchant selling swords and smiled hoping that the merchant would know and ran: "Hey! I'm-" "Looking to buy something? Then come on! This is the best place to buy weapons, potions and more! So, what are you going to buy?" The merchant then looked at the swordsman and said "Oh, never mind, you're just a novice. Heh, no business with you." Surprised by the bombardment of sale pitches, she regained her senses and yelled "Wait! I just wanted to know where you bought your swords, I want to become a swordsman, and so I thought maybe you bought your swords from the Swordsman guild…" The merchant looked at the swordsman and sighed. "Fine, I'll show you where it is, but it'll cost y'a. How much money you got?" "About 12000z" "…" "What?" "You're lying." "Am not!" "Are too! How can a novice get so much money!" "I've been around." "Yeah, I bet." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Oh nothing Just follow me." The future swordsman looked at her and followed. "Tasouno!" the merchant called out. Then, out from the crowd an acolyte approached them. "What? I'm busy healing people!" "Oh shove it, let's go, I'm showing this noob where the Swordsman guild is." "Really? How much are you charg-" The merchant elbowed him in the stomach. "Shut up, she doesn't have to know the price yet!" The acolyte looked at her. The merchant then whispered to him: "She's loaded!" The acolyte sighed. "Let's go… Here, I'll use Agility Up on us, okay?" The two girls nodded. "AGILITY UP!" and with a clap of his hands, he increased the speed of all three of them. The novice, being a noob as she is, ran around testing her new speed then. The merchant and the acolyte could only shake their heads. While walking towards to Swordsman guild, the novice asked: "So, what are you're names? I'm May Éclair and I'm going to be a valiant Crusader!" The merchant smiled and said: "I'm Claire Jones, and I'm going to be the filthiest rich Blacksmith in the whole world!" The acolyte laughed while Claire gave him the evil eye. "The names Tasouno Dali. I know I may look pathetic now, but I'm going to be a Priest who'll be entirely devoted to God. And hopefully by then, Claire will stop using me for money." Claire smiled at Tasouno. "Yeah, of course I'll stop using you for money…" She slyly grinned as she crossed her fingers behind her back. After their introductions, all three of them were standing in front of their destination, the Swordsman Guild. "Well, I guess I'm going to take my test to become a swordsman!" Claire rested her hand on May's shoulder. "Alright, want us to wait for you?" Claire asked. "Only if you want to. Maybe you should sell some items while waiting?" Pondering, Claire replied: "Hmm, that's a good idea! Well, good luck! And don't fail!" "Yeah, good luck May!" Then, May entered to take her first step into swordsman-hood.

As May slowly stepped inside the guild, she quietly closed the door and walked around looking for any sign of life. She wandered around reading flyers and posters asking for help in certain dungeons she's never heard of along with for sale posters selling used swords, armors and shields. She walked over to the couch and sat down waiting for whomever she was waiting for. After a few minutes, she heard a door open as a tall, built man with dirty blonde hair along with a well-kept beard came out. He walked behind the desk and gave her a quick smile along with an introduction: "Hey there! My name's George, and I'm guessing you want to become a swordsman?" May eagerly replied: "Yes! I am ready for whatever you throw at me!" George laughed: "Well, that's good! So, what level are you and are you at Job level 10?" "Yep! I'm level 13 and I got to job level 10 a long time ago!" "Well, that's good. Okay, well, fill this form out and then I want you to go in that room and talk to that man and he'll lead you to the test room." He pointed to the door on her left. "Okay, thank you sir!" May then entered the room with just a tinge of anxiety. She opened the door and saw a young man with long blonde hair with a friendly smile. "Oh hello! You must be new!" May shyly nodded gripping her application sheet "Ah, so if you will pass your application to me, I'll look it over." May hastily gave him her sheet as he directed her to take a seat. She watched him as he read over her application and then smiled at her as he motioned her to come to him. "Alright, May Éclair, age 13 and you were born all the way in Geffen? Wow, must've been quite the journey! I'm surprised that you didn't become a mage!" May grinned with the outmost confidence "Heh! No way will I become a sissy mage! I'd rather have all the action and take 'em down with brute force!" The instructor smiled "That's the spirit!! And, since you meet up with all the requirements and you're accepted to take the test. But, you have to listen carefully to what I'm going to say because I won't repeat this, okay?" May nodded "Alright, the purpose of this test is to see if you are qualified to become a swordsman. As you know, a Swordsman needs superior physical strength and iron will! If you possess neither of these attributes, you will surely fail this grueling test." May gulped with worry overcoming her. "Don't worry, the objective of this test is simple, you need to make through an course within seven minutes in order to pass. The obstacle course has three parts that are littered with traps!! So, be careful! And some traps will reduce your health, while others will make you fall into a cave making you start all over. Now, you can surrender or you can wait till your time limit is up, but that would cause you to fail. But! I have confidence in you May." May smiled and thanked him as he led her to the entrance room. "Good luck! And may Odin bless you!"

May entered the dimly lit cavern and carefully walked forward. She made her way through but then tripped. Surprised, she looked back and saw that there were holes all over the ground. 'Better watch my step…' She got up and carefully walked avoid the pits and made her way through the cave. She then crossed a few narrow paths and made it past the first level. A guard took a few steps forward and asked her if she wanted to surrender, but May confidently told him that she would continue. The guard nodded and tapped his spear and it opened a new door that May made her way in. The cave was just as dim as the last one but with random spot lights to help give some way. May cautiously walked when she suddenly fell into a hole. She quickly grabbed the ledge as some stray rocks fell down the hole. She listened waiting to hear any sign of ground, but with no avail. She then struggled to climb out of the whole and then with all her might she pulled herself out. She sat down taking a quick break when she suddenly heard a voice yell out that she had four minutes till the test was over. Filled with worry and struggle for time, she ran and dodged all the holes and pits until she came across a long, narrow wooden plank. She gulped as her fear of heights washed over her. She looked for any other way, but only found another wooden plank just as sturdy as the one she faced earlier. The voice warned her again that she only had three minutes till the test was over which led her panic even more. She then relaxed and forced herself to take her first step onto the plank. She stumbled as the plank creaked and moaned due to age and wobbled at the same time. May gulped and took another step and gained her balance. She carefully walked over the plank and when she was in the middle, she stopped to catch her breathe with her arms spread out, only to look down. As she looked down, she only saw nothingness and darkness. Her mouth ran dry as she perspired and walked only taking short breaks to wipe the sweat off her forehead. When she was at the end of the plank, she gleefully ran the rest of the way and jumped off the plank and continued her test. The voice announced that she had two minutes left and she quickly ran to the third level and yelled at the guards to open the door. The guards confused, opened the door as the energetic novice ran through the door and quickly walked over more pits and jumped over traps. She then climbed the awkwardly large stairs and then found herself near the exit where a man in a long brown poncho waited there. Covered in sweat, she ran to the man and yelled: "I'M DONE!!!" Surprised by the young novice, he looked at her and his watch and told her: "Well, May Éclair, I must announce that you…" May looked at him with worry as his words came out low and quiet. "Passed the swordsman test!" He exclaimed. May stood there dumbfounded for a moment as a smile crept onto her face as she jumped up and down and started to dance with the announcer. "W-w-wait May! I must tell you that I passed your results to George and he will give you your equipment and papers." May calmed down as the man straightened himself and opened the door and lead the new swordsman out.

So, you've passed the test?" May nodded eagerly "Well, congratulations!!! Now you're qualified to become a real swordsman! I will get you your change of clothes!" May sat down on the couch as George came back out with a change of clothes for her. Eagerly, she grabbed them and went into the other room to change. She took off her novice outfit and pulled her skirt up zipping it up into place. She grabbed her shirt and tucked it into her skirt and then picked up her breastplate. She analyzed the size and sighed. She peeked out the door and called George over: "George! Um… I think I need… I think I need smaller breastplate size…" She blushed as George laughed heartedly and grabbed her a different pair. "Thanks…." She looked down and sighed as she pulled her breastplates onto her. She thanked Odin as the breastplates were a perfect fit for her developing breasts. She hooked the plate and then reached for her muffler and hung it over her shoulders and pinned it together. She then pulled on her elbow pads and gauntlets along with her boots and hooked her belt on, and walked out. George smiled at how well the swordsman gear suited her and patted her head and gave her first sword. She smiled with glee and gratefully accepted it and swung it around until she dropped it. "Hahaha, don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon. Just practice with your sword and perhaps one day you can use a two-handed sword! You just gotta' pump your arms up!" He grinned as May thanked him and just when she was about to leave, he yelled: "Fight with dignity, courage and pride young May! Do not bring shame onto the swordsman guild of Izlude!" She nodded her head and left to continue her journey.

Outside of the Swordsman guild waited Claire and Tasouno as Claire, as usual, hassled and assaulted many citizens who are unfortunate enough to pass by and Tasouno attempted to restrain her. "Aw come on! It's only 52 z for a bottle of red potion! I KNOW that you need it! What if you run into a boss monster?… HEY! I'm TALKING TO YOU!" "Come on Claire… you're just embarrassing yourself, now let's see if-" suddenly, they were interrupted by a man about 5"9 wearing a shady cloak and bamboo hat. The man just stood there as Claire and Tasouno just stared back, questioning his motives until he spoke with a deep and husky voice: "Good afternoon. I was just wondering if you've seen a highly energetic novice with blue hair who wants to become a swordsman around? I believe she goes by the name of May… Éclair I believe?" Claire snarled at him and asked: "Yeah? So what if we have? Who wants to know?" Tasouno meekly backed up behind Claire searching for May to warn her of potential danger. The stranger grinned and replied: "Let's just say, I have a personal vendetta with her from all the way from Morocc… " At that moment, May came running out fully equipped with her new outfit, armor and weapon screeching in joy and excitement "GUYS! GUYS! I DID IT! I PASSED THE TEST! I am now, a full-fledged swordsman! Just one step closer into being a Crusader! Can you guys believe it?! The test wasn't so hard either! And-" May paused when she finally noticed the tension between Claire, Tasouno and the stranger. "Say May… Is this a friend of yours? He says he has a personal vendetta with you all the way from Morocc…. Is that true?" Confused, May thought for a few moments on what occurred in Morocc: "Hmm… Morocc?… I don't think anything happened… Why?" She turned towards the stranger: "Do I know you?" The stranger looked at her straight in the eyes and said: "Not entirely, but I will make you pay for what you did to me in Morocc!!" And in a flash, he took out a dagger and charged straight towards May yelling in anger and anticipation. This stranger was really fast and May barely had a chance to swing out her sword and block his attack. Gasping from the weight of the sword, May clumsily pushed the stranger backwards and evaded any on-coming attacks. The stranger, furious, ran towards her and jumped while yelling: "DOUBLE ATTACK!" And struck his dagger twice onto May's sword making her fall backwards. "Holy shit! What the hell was that?!" May exclaimed in fear as Tasouno yelled to her: "That's a thief's attack, this guy must be a thief from the Thieves Guild! Watch out! These guys are really agile and sneaky!" "Not to mention cheap little bastards!" Claire added. May took note of what her friends told her and kept a close eye on her foe while dodging and blocking many of his attacks. The fight was evenly matched as May made a few swings with her sword aiming at his chest but used many useless movements to hit her acquired target. The stranger dodged much faster than May did, but did little or no damage when he struck with his dagger. Furious, he crouched down and grabbed a fistful of sand and struck May in the face blinding her temporarily and then readying a fresh new charge towards May. Tearful and partially blind, May squinted and saw her opponent lunge towards her as she lifted her shield bracing for the impact. But there was no impact, unsure, she lowered her shield slightly and peered over and saw a guard restraining the stranger. "Ma'am, is this scoundrel disturbing you?" The stranger struggled and gasped in pain as the guard held him tighter with each burst of struggle. Relieved, May lowered her shield completely and sighed in exhaustion: "Not really, but this battle was going nowhere! Hahaha!" The guard grinned and agreed: "I noticed, if I didn't interrupt, you two would've just collapsed from exhaustion! Now, who are you young man?" The stranger stayed silent and stared off obviously aggravated. Due to the lack of response, the Guard took off his hat to get a good view of his face which jogged May's memory: "WHAT!? IT'S YOU!! YOU! T-T-T-HAT DAMN THIEF FROM MOROCC!!! UGH! So you wanted more eh?! Well, Mr. Guard-sir, please arrest this low-life thief and you'll have my utmost gratitude!" The Guard slightly surprised by her outburst questioned: "Oh?… On what grounds?…" Furious, May yelled: "When we were both novices, this thief stole my armor and items, but of course, I didn't let him get away, I ran him down and gained all of my items back! And now he's trying to exact revenge on me now! That's what grounds!" The Guard smirked and assured her that he was going to send him to jail and walked off with the stranger who remained silent until he muttered loudly: "Wow, she looks even more manlier than before…" Which resulted in a slap on the face.

Once the Guard and thief were out of view, May yawned and looked up in the sky. "Wow, it's already dark?" Claire added in: "Yep, let's go find a hotel before it gets too dark" "Yeah, should we head out tomorrow Claire?" Tasouno asked. "Yeah, let's head to Prontera" She paused. "Wanna join us May? We're missing a tank in our party" She smiled and winked "Yeah! And I can buff you as well!" Tasouno added as May felt so relieved to have made new friends and wouldn't have to be alone anymore and smiled gleefully: "Hehe, of couse! I am honored!" and the three of them headed towards the inn.

Near the exit of Izlude…
The Guard stopped and released the thief. Confused, he asked: "Hey… What are you doing? Aren't you going to turn me in?" Smiling, the Guard said: "Oh hell no, you're just a kid, I can tell that you're fresh out of guild too y'know?" "Really?! But how?" The Guard laughed: "Ahahaha, that's because I was once a thief too y'know? Not my proudest moment, but I learned a lot. What class are you aiming for kid?" "That none of your-" He paused: "----- And assassin. Why?" The Guard frowned faced the thief and looked him right in the eyes: "Look, trust me, you don't want to get into that class… Sure it may look cool and all, but, it really isn't the ideal life of a normal human being. The Assassins Guild… They're vicious and everyone there are considered dogs of the Assassins Guild. Why? Because they all have to be obedient like little dogs. You may want to reconsider your choice, but I can't force you into anything." The thief listened to his words carefully and thought deeply about them. "Say, what's your name?" Asked the Guard. "Me? Oh. My name is Dean Lark." The Guard patted his shoulder and walked away: "Alright Dean, good luck on your travels. Remember what I told you." Dean stood there in and stared at the sunset and walked into the forest towards Prontera.